Africans in U.S. illegally arrested in Baldwin County
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
By RUSS HENDERSON

Baldwin County sheriff's deputies arrested two African men traveling from Georgia to New Orleans carrying more than a dozen boxes of counterfeit name-brand shoes, purses and pants worth an estimated $50,000, said Sheriff's Maj. Anthony Lowery.

It was the second time this month that law enforcement officials in Baldwin County arrested illegal immigrants from the West African nation of Guinea on counterfeiting charges.

In fact, the two men arrested Saturday gave deputies the same last name — Diallo — as two of the three who were arrested July 8 by Loxley police on charges of possessing a credit card forgery device.

On Saturday morning, deputies patrolling Interstate 65 in northern Baldwin County stopped a white van traveling southward, Lowery said. The two men inside the van grew visibly nervous, and the deputies asked permission to search the vehicle, he said.

The men gave their permission, Lowery said. In the back of the van, the deputies found cardboard boxes filled with what looked like Nike shoes, Louis Vuitton purses and True Religion clothing, among other items, Lowery said.

After contacting U.S. Immigration and Customs officials, deputies determined that the merchandise was fake, he said.

Mamadou Diallo, 48, and Bachir Diallo, 36, were arrested on theft of trademark charges, a class C felony under Alabama law, punishable by one to 10 years in prison. The van and the merchandise were confiscated, and the investigation is being turned over to U.S. Customs and Immigration, he said.

Deputies did not know whether the two men arrested Saturday were related to three men arrested in the Loxley area two weeks ago. Those men — Ismael Diallo, 32; Madiou Diallo, 34; and Mohamed Diarra, 36 — also remained Tuesday in the Baldwin County Corrections Center in Bay Minette.

No bail had been set for the men pending resolution of their immigration status, according to jail records.


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